March 30, 2010

It's on. Welcome to the Battle of the Buns. The Rumble of the Rolls. The Ultimate Cinnamon Skirmish.

I've decided to take it upon myself to experiment with different cinnamon roll recipes, mixing and matching and melding and meshing until I find the one that pleases me most.

The rolls I picked as my starting point come from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice and you can find the original recipe on any number of sites around the web. I was (perhaps mistakenly) impressed by the oddly specific amounts of certain ingredients--6 1/2 tablespoons of sugar, for example. Would half of a tablespoon of sugar make that much difference? Clearly Mr. Reinhart and his crew had done some thorough recipe work. Not a bad way to earn a living, eh?

Even though I hadn't tested it in its untouched form, I decided to make some changes anyway based on things I had read in various posts:

*I added half a box of instant vanilla pudding mix to the dough, as it has proven to provide mucho moistness.
*I used brown sugar, much more cinnamon, and butter in the filling. More butter is better--that's a rule, right?
*Due to a woeful lack of cream cheese, I used ol' Pete's white fondant glaze (sans lemon extract) on top.

So, what did I think about these? On the upside, the dough was a breeze to handle. However...[brace yourself for Negative Nelly]...the bready part was more cake-like than anything else (perhaps that pudding mix didn't have the desired effect), and the lemon flavor dominated. Thank heavens I didn't add lemon extract to the glaze as Mr Reinhart suggested. There was nowhere near enough cinnamon in the filling--it didn't stand a chance to be tasted against that pesky lemon. Also, the brown sugar probably wasn't as conducive to carrying that spice of all spices into the sense receptors. Finally, and most tragically, the glaze was entirely too sweet and I ended up scraping most of it off.

I know I've made it sound like these were dreadful, but that's not true--they're a tasty treat to be sure. Further, I learned several things about the process and about the components I must include (more cinnamon!), omit (lemon!), and replace (fondant glaze!). All in all, I found them enjoyable, but I can't in good conscience call them cinnamon rolls.

Rolls of Lemon Cake with a Hint of CinnamonMakes 8-12 large or 12-16 smaller buns

Prepare dough:
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar, salt, and softened butter. Whip in the egg and lemon extract until smooth. Then add the flour, vanilla pudding mix, yeast, and milk and mix until the dough forms a ball. Plop out onto a floured surface and knead for approximately 10 minutes, or until the dough is tacky but not sticky. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to cover it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

Shape rolls:
Mist the counter with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, lightly dusting the top of the dough with flour. Roll it into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick and 14 inches wide by 12 inches long for larger buns, or 18 inches wide by 9 inches long for smaller buns. Slather the softened butter all over the dough and sprinkle the cinnamon and brown sugar evenly over that. Roll the dough up into a log, creating a tight spiral as you roll. With the seam side down, cut the dough into 8 to 12 even pieces, each about 1-3/4 inches thick for larger buns; or 12 to 16 pieces each 1-1/4 inches thick for smaller buns.
Line one or more sheet pans with baking parchment or grease with cooking spray. Place the buns on the pan(s) approximately 1/2 inch apart.
Proof at room temperature for 75 to 90 minutes, or until the pieces have grown into one another and have nearly doubled in size.

Bake rolls:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Bake the buns for 20 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Cool the buns in the pan for about 10 minutes, and then glaze the tops.

Prepare glaze:
Stir the ingredients together and add milk as needed to obtain desired consistency.

oooh, they look fab even if you weren't overly impressed with them. I commiserate with your pesky lemon struggle (although I usually love them). Oh, and this is the post that's tipped me over the edge - I'm baking cinnamon rolls this Easter weekend.

The roles looked gorgeous! I wouldn't mind having one of your lemon rolls, since i love that refreshing citrus smell. You just created something new! I am sure it'll appeal to those who don't like cinnamon :D (i love cinnamon too!)

I think the only thing I enjoy more than cinnamon is lemon...so these look absolutely perfect to me! I'm intrigued by the addition of vanilla pudding--I've never come across a cinnamon roll recipe that used it, but it sounds like a great idea to add some moist yuminess!

I make one with pudding in the mix. I love them. They are more tender than the traditional ones but I like it. SO funny my husband has requested these for his birthday. Since I already make one with pudding in the mix, I will be making the Cooks Illustrated one this time. Cant wait to see your next recie here.

I love your experiments. And there is nothing better than a cinnamon roll test. I'm sorry these fell a little flat. But I do think the combination of lemon and cinnamon is very intriguing. Can't wait to see what's next...

The pudding mix is what made it cake like. You are such a dear, sacrificing your own self interest to check out all possible cinnamon roll recipes for us! I'm making Hot Cross Buns this weekend by the zillions, so please, keep testing cinnamon rolls until I can get time to try some!

There is nothing more drool-worthy than homemade cinnamon rolls, and your photos are certainly enticing Grace.Too bad that these fell somewhat short, but I'm anxious to see what you try next! Can't have too much cinnamon-I always end up adding more than a recipe calls for!

well, they look super anyway! It does seem a little odd to add lemon to a cinnamon roll. If you're going to continue trying different recipes, try PW's if you haven't already. I can't tell you how awesome they are!

I really can't think of a better battle to have in your kitchen. The more cinnamon roll taste-testing in your life, the better. I'm pretty sure. Because if even they're not great? They're still pretty good.

Thanks for sharing these even though you didn't love them! I can't wait until you create the ultimate roll (stuffed with TONS of cinnamon) because that one - I will be making.

Ive made cinnamon rolls once and the recipe called for that pudding mix. I still found the roll to be...I dunno, not so moist? Maybe it's over rated? Or maybe I messed up? but yes...more cinnamon is always a plus

Not that I've tested many sweet roll recipes, but my fave recipe so far is King Arthur Flour's Ridiculously Easy No-Knead Sticky Buns http://search.kingarthurflour.com/search?w=ridiculously%20easy%20no-knead%20sticky%20buns&af=type:recipes I make 12-18 "bake and give" paper baking pans of these to give away to special lucky recipients at Christmas (frozen, along with thawing and baking instructions), and have people begging me for them the rest of the year. You could make them as simpler cinnamon buns by leaving off the topping, of course, and adding a cream cheese frosting later. If you can afford it, do use the KAF Cinnamon Filling, it is to die for. This year I had gobs of separated eggs in the freezer, so I made the dough even richer, like a brioche dough, by adding MORE butter and using two egg yolks to replace every egg called for, plus a few more!